1. Field of the Invention
Generally, the present invention provides an improved structure for a box-like module of armor for military vehicles and particularly military vehicles engaged in combat operations. The invention also relates to the field of composite armor wherein layers of various materials including ceramics, metals, glass and polycarbonates are combined to create desired kinds and levels of ballistic protection. Finally the invention relates to the technology by which transparent objects of manufacture, such as bottles or glass plates are inspected for flaws.
2. Background Art
It is well known to create a layered transparent structure that provides protection from bullets or projectiles. Numerous references could be cited showing such structures, and an example is U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,820 to Bolton et al, which shows laminated safety glass which affords ballistic protection. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,824,941 to Knapper shows glass layers used with metal layers in a box-like armor structure. U.S. Pat. No. 6,532,857 B1 to Shih et al. shows an armor face component comprised of ceramic tiles in a planar array along a metal plate wherein the tiles and plate are encased in rubber. U.S. Pat. No. 2,375,260 to Suydam shows an apparatus for testing a block of transparent crystal by focusing a beam of light through one edge of the crystal, whereby light travels through the crystal and forms an image used to detect flaws therein. A basic tutorial on image processing, including analysis of light intensity variation in an image, is provided by a National Instruments publication entitled “Image Analysis and Processing,” which can be found at http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/3470.